Gone Fishin'
by IG42
Summary: Random oneshot written over the evening. In between endeavours that shake the realm the Warrior of Light follows some advice and tries to switch off for a while.


_Your duty for the moment….is to rest._

* * *

Adjusting an unfamiliar straw hat around his ears a tanned Mi'qote hefted his new equipment and shuffled awkwardly before stepping out into the morning sun.

R'ithil Tia, Warrior of Light, Scion of the Seventh Dawn, Azure Dragoon, Fatewalker, Storm Lieutenant, Defender of Eorzea, Khloe's Friend etcetera etcetera was going fishing. Watching a group of shrunken down fellow Adventures deliberately get themselves eaten by a Cerberus had been the last straw and he was going to take a break and not get in a fight today.

Passing the stable he waved away the questioning "Kweh?" and kept walking. "Not today Herbie." He said to the purple Chocobo. "It's your day off too so you just relax today." Fishing out a different whistle from usual he summoned Enbarr instead, mounting the blue horse bareback he waved to Herbie again. "I'll be back in a few days, the others are going to keep you fed. I'll bring something back for you."

"Kweh!"

"Good boy." R'ithil nudged Enbarr lightly and trotted away from the company hall.

* * *

Standing by the edge of the Nym River R'ithil gripped the fishing pole in a two-handed grip and alternated between staring intently at the line and watching the pugils roaming nearby. Fishing off the dock in Limsa Lominsa hadn't lasted long, the bustle of the city was something he found he wanted to escape and he needed to get more practice with different bait. Besides what fish he caught seemed less lively than the kelp the line occasionally snagged, they were fat on lost bait and chum and he speculated almost drunk into stupors by drink dropped in the waters by rowdy sailors.

Abruptly the line twitched snapping the Mi'qote into action, once the squirming crayfish had been secured he realised that when it had initially snagged the line his hands had instinctively moved to grip the rod as if it were his lance. "Thal's balls." He cursed quietly and collapsed the rod, the whole point was to switch off from fighting not go trying to unleash draconic power on his catch.

Picking up the rest of his things he elected to try somewhere else.

* * *

"Go away." The Yarzon ignored him and scuttled closer and snapped it's mandibles at the Mi'qote as he calmly backpedalled. "For once I'm not here to crush something now leave me alone." The Vein burbled onward next to them not caring about the 'struggle' taking place on it's banks.

 _I could probably just smash it's exoskeleton without even needing a weapon._ R'ithil thought to himself as the creature screeched in frustration. _Nope no stabbing, shooting, crushing or magicking today._

Once they neared the edge of the Bentbranch Meadows the yarzon finally gave up and retreated back into the river. "Be seeing you." He said to the creature's back before pulling out his map of the area, he had fished peacefully around within Gridania with slightly more success, something about the forest city always made him feel calmer, still his urge to explore had driven out into the Central Shroud and led to the aggravating encounter

Searching for a balance between staying out and about and avoiding any vile, seed, beast or voidkin intent on coming after him he settled on checking out the Mirror. _I could just sit on the dock and let the Wood Wailers keep the beasties away._ Nodding to himself he packed away the map and pulled out his whistle again.

* * *

"Ah." _This is a bit more like it._ Letting his feet dangle over the edge R'ithil felt he had gotten the hang of fishing enough to hold a book in one hand and keep only half an eye on the rod in the other. The book had been recommended by Alphinaud when his twin had instructed him to take a rest before the Ala Mhigo campaign began, it certainly seemed to fit his studious nature but was a little heavy for R'ithil especially when he was splitting his attention.

Huffing and laying the tome aside he shifted sideways and leaned against one of the posts on the dock, it was a little sad but it was strange to hold a book and not have it be his grimoire from dabbling in spellcasting with Eos flitting about at his side. Closing his eyes and letting his grip slacken a little he managed to simply listen to the running water for a moment. _I guess Sayo was right._ He thought about the combat avoiding Lalafell that led his Free Company. _This is a good way to relax._ The momentary peace was broken by a tug on the line and yielded a fairly sizeable snapping pipira.

* * *

Having quietly fished around the Black Shroud and Central Thanalan over the last few days R'ithil had returned to Limsa Lominsa to check in with the Fisherman's Guild and training up his squad in the Aftcastle.

Now he perched on his folding stool with the line dangling over a cliff and realised that he had finally managed to stop thinking about fighting for a minute. _Did I use the right bait? I think I remembered to use those rat tails but-_ A detonation behind him nearly blew his hat off followed by a roar. Twisting in his seat he saw an unfamiliar spellcaster had started battling a particularly mean looking serpent.

Glancing into his hamper R'ithil saw the knives he had brought along in case he was forced into a fight. Turning back to face the sea he tried and failed to stop stealing looks at the ongoing fight. _They can handle it I'm sure, it's not that bad they're obviously the stronger and can get away if there's a problem. I'm resting and I don't need to get involved._

"Bugger it." Reeling the line in he collapsed the rod, took his hat off and grabbed his knives. Stretching a little he applied the usual poison to his stabbers and ran off to join the fray with a wry grin.

* * *

Author Notes: As I said in the description I randomly felt threw this together this evening. This is based on me trying my hand at Fisher ingame while waiting for Stormblood to release (early access next week eeeee). It's a nice way to be online and chatter with the FC while watching Netflix without feeling the pressure to do much of anything.

Feel free to fave, review or ignore me entirely as you please. I'm off the invest in a fish tank.


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